At WRMS, we have wrestling, which many people have a misconception about, most people think of a sport only for guys, or they might think of WWE, but it’s not. Wrestling at WRMS is an all gender sport, and it is played in the winter. Usually, individual wrestlers are matched up with wrestlers in the same weight class and are usually wrestling someone of the same gender.

They wrestle an opponent from another team and they attempt to “pin” the opponent. Pinning is getting the other person on their back. A referee will make the call on whether someone is pinned or not. Scores are given based on performance. There are wrestling meets, like the one WRMS hosted a meet on Monday, November 14th, also there are tournaments, like the Emporia tournament on Thursday, November 10th.

According to head coach Jordan Short, “Wrestling is the oldest sport in the world. It requires not only strength and toughness, but also intelligence. The amount of girls in wrestling has increased, which has made the number of wrestlers in total increase.”  

Weight classes are an important part of wrestling, but some people mistakenly think that in wrestling you have to continually gain or lose weight. Assistant coach Winston Heilman said, “There are 18 weight classes in middle school from 75 lbs all the way up to 265 lbs. You can wrestle whatever weight you are and only wrestle against kids that weigh the same as you.”

To participate in wrestling, athletes have to condition. Conditioning involves workouts with small breaks in between. “The workouts increase stamina and make you stronger,” said 7th grade wrestler Collin Rezac. Even though wrestling can be physically demanding, there are lots of benefits. Rezac said, “I like the sport and it helps with other sports and makes me better overall–a better person and athlete.” Seventh grade wrestler Eli Estep agrees. He joined “to stay in shape and make new friends.”

Therefore wrestling is not just guys, it’s not WWE, and you do not have to have to lose and gain weight constantly. Catch the next home wrestling match on November 30th.